Rain's
real name is Jung Ji-Hoon (pronounced Jung like young
and - hoon like moon) other notation Jeong Ji-Hun
(the correct romanization from his Korean characters), which
he uses when he performs as an actor. His surname is Jung
and his given name is Ji-Hoon.

Before
Rain made his debut as singer some people said, that he
has a certain sadness charisma when he dance. Therefore
Rain assume the chinese word/audible "bēi"/雨
(translated "sadness") as his stage name. The
Korean say "Bi or Pi" (translated: "Rain"),
an simimlar pronunciation for the Chinese"bēi".
Because Rain associated sadness with rain, so he assume
the english word "RAIN" for his international
stage name. 雨 is the Chinese character for the word "bēi"
and you can find it in Rain's signatur (in the word Jung
Ji-Hoon, it is a part of the second "J"). ==>
click
here to see

All
his "stage names" in the different languages means always
the word "rain". In the West, he is known by the English
word Rain. In Korea he is known as 비, romanized
as Bi and pronounced as the letter B in English.
In Japan, he is known as ピ, pronounced Pi.
In some parts of Chinese word, he is sometimes
referred to as Yu or 雨pronouncedbēi.
He uses these stage names when he performs as a singer and
dancer. Usually he want this name solely use as singer and
dancer, but in the west the most known he as Rain and hence
he is also in (Hollywood) movies (as Actor) named as Rain.

Biography

Rain
was born on the 25th of June 1982 in Seoul (South Korea)
and has a younger sister. He became interested in R&B and
Hiphop dancing when he was in 6th grade. As a teenager,
he was a member of a boy band called Fan Club. The
group's first hit single, 꿈을 찾아서
(translation: "In Search of a Dream"), subsequently,
was a remake of the popular 1997 hit, Tubthumping,
sung by English band, Chumbawamba. The two songs were the
same in composition. Only the lyrics were changed in content
and language.The
group was short-lived, and soon disbanded. At that time
Rain was having the hardest time of his life. His mother
was sick, he had no money, he had a little sister to take
care of and had to go to school. Yet he still pressed forward,
always dancing and dreaming of becoming a singer. Rain then
began auditioning for various talent agencies. In a CNN
interview, however, he recalled being repeatedly rejected
because of his looks: "In fact, I was told after one audition
that my singing and dancing was great but I didn't make
it because I didn't have double eyelids."

Music, film and businessman career

Park
Jin-Young (Korean producer/singer who worked with American
singers Will Smith, Mase, Lil' Kim, 3LW, Tyrese) took Rain
under his wings after he auditioned Korean talent agency
JYP Entertainment. During the early years of training in
dancing and singing, Rain was a backup dancer for a famous
Korean singer named Park Ji-Yoon and Park Jin-Young himself.
During those training, Rain was not often at home and told
to his parents them he was gonna study in the library while
in fact he went to the dance studio. He struggled financially
and at times had to go without meals. Nevertheless, he continued
to focus on his dance and singing even though he was anxiously
waiting for his debut.

Finally,
in 2002 he debuted with the album "Bad Guy"
where he was introduced to the media through his stage or
commercial name, Rain. In the album, a similarly-named single
"Bad Guy" was a big hit. After
his first album, he took time off from his career as a singer
to star in the drama series, "Sang Doo! Let's
Go To School". Following the success of his
debut as singer and actor, Rain released his second album
"How to Avoid The Sun", and had
another hit with the title song "Ways to Avoid the
Sun".

In
2004, he starred in another successful drama called "Full
House", which was one of the highest-rated Korean
dramas of all time with ratings of over 30% for every episode.
It was broadcasted in many other countries including the
Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand,
China, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. Through Full House, Rain
was recognized across Asia. His performance in the drama
also won him the Best Actor Award at the KBS Acting Awards.

His
3rd album "It's Raining" has been released
2004 in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Indonesia,
Thailand, the Philippines and has top the foreign music
charts in those countries; the album has sold more than
1 million in Asia. In the years 2004 and 2005 he won many
awards with his music (see also "Awards").

Rain
then went on his first Asia-Tour "RAINY DAY"
in January 2005, starting in Seoul and followed by Tokyo
and Hong Kong; due to his fame and his extravagant performances,
tickets sold out quickly. His first solo concert in Japan
last summer, entitled Rainy Day Japan held at the Tokyo
International Forum, was so popular that all the tickets
were sold out 30 seconds after going on sale. The tickets
for another of his concerts in Taiwan were sold out the
moment they became available also. His performances in Hong
Kong also sold out in a couple of hours. Rain continues
to set records in Asia. Now planning to go beyond Japan
and Hong Kong, Rain will make a foray into China by giving
a concert in Beijing.

Rain's
fourth album, "Rain's World" was
released in Korea on October 14, 2006. The first single
was "I'm Coming", followed by the second
single "In My Bed", and finally "Inside
of You".

Rain's
first world tour "RAIN's Coming"
began on December 13, 2006 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, and
was scheduled to continue through 2007 to the following
countries: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam,
China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, United States and Canada.

Rain
has his film debut with "I'm A Cyborg, But That's
OK" in 2006. It was broadcasted in many
other countries worldwide and was awarded with some awards.
This includes winning an Alfred Bauer Award at the 57th
Berlin International Film Festival (Germany) 2007 and being
selected as the opening film for the Hong Kong International
Film Festival. Also, at the 43rd Baeksang Award in Korea
in 2007, Rain and Su-Jeong were nominated for New Best Actor
and Best Actress. Rain won the award while Su-jeong lost
to The Fox Family's Park Si-Yeon.

The
role as Taejo Togokhan (a rival racer) in the movie "Speed Racer" is Rain's Hollywood debut
and will be released in May 2008.

In
May-June 2008, Rain was in Berlin (Germany) filming "Ninja
Assassin". He will play an Ninja called Raizo.
It will be Rain's first lead role in an Hollywood movie.
The cinema release is scheduled for March or October 2009.

In
October 2008 Rain start his comeback with appearances in
many TV and Radio Shows. On 15th October 2008 has been released
his 5th Album "레이니즘 / Rainism".
It is a Asia Special Album and will be available in different
Countries. In these albums are the songs "Rainism"
and "Love Story" in the respective national language
(it is available in Korean, Chinese, Japanese and English).
Rainism is Rain's first album under his own agency company
"J. Tune Entertainment" (since 2007) where he is the owner.

Rain
founded a further company called "J. Tune Creative"
in 2008. This Company will start in December 2008
a clothing line with the brand name "Six to Five".
Rain will hold the SIX TO FIVE Launching SHOW 09 & Concert
on 23th December 2008 to present his new fashion line.